We recently connected with Melanie Allington and have shared our conversation below.
Melanie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
Gus & Hue Portrait Studio. I specialize in pet photography. Gus & Hue are the names of my Two English Mastiff puppies. Gus just turned 2 years old in July, and Hue would have been 1 this November, unfortunately she passed away from a misdiagnosed virus this past May at just 6 months old. Gus is my best friend, he goes everywhere with my, loves to assist my on photo shoots, He also doubles as a service dog, so he can be very helpful making others feel welcome and comfortable in any situation.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I began taking photos of Ultra4 race cars back in 2018 for the Baby Jeep Racing team. It is quite different taking photos of a race car doing 90 mph in the desert versus a cute little puppy you might think, but some days not really, action shots of dogs are quite similar. I am so grateful for all the experience I was able to have from the years spent taking photos of race cars and look forward to doing more in the future. It is only recently that I have switched gears and my focus to spend time photographing pets. I photographed Ultra4 race, which consist of a combination for racing across the desert & rock crawling up to 130 miles in one race. It is high adrenaline & very exciting for the drivers, the pit crew, the fans & well everyone. It is also a very expensive sport. In the last few years, with fuel prices & costs of living continuing to go up, it has gotten very expensive to participate in these race events for a lot of the teams. And the last place they spent their money is on photography. So I had to look at other places to market my skills, and also do what I love to do. I love dogs. So it made sense for me to shift my focus.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I am currently, in a place of pivoting right now in my life. My husband , Gus and I just very recently moved from Utah to South Carolina, I was in process of shifting my business to pet photography and had to put everything on hold to move. We are now settled in South Carolina. Starting from scratch with no contacts, it’s very scary. The very idea of getting out there and introducing myself to and meeting new people is terrifying! Good thing I have Gus! He has the best social skills. It has been a bit of an adjustment, but in a good way, as I am not a “studio photographer”, so I have had to get out there and scout out location to do photo shoots and find places that will work well for photographing pets outdoors and get to know the area. And in the process I have been able to meet people and talk with them and get a feel for my surroundings. All new adventures are exciting. This is one and it’s going to be great.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Goal/Mission that is driving my creative journey would be to continue learning and expanding my love for the art of photography. I love the ocean and would love to take more sunset photographs and experiment with long exposure photography of waterfalls, there is so many. My bucket list is long for things I would love to photograph example Formula1 race, NASCAR, Hot Air Balloon Festival, Regatta Race, Faroe Islands…the list is very long.
Contact Info:
- Website: gusandhue.com
- Instagram: @gusandhue
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melanieallingtonphotography
- Other: IG: @melanie.allington